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Geomorphological Processes and the Development of the Lower Saint John River Human Landscape

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Geomorphological Processes and the Development of the Lower Saint John River Human Landscape GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOWER SAINT JOHN RIVER HUMAN LANDSCAPE by Pamela Jeanne Dickinson Bachelor of Arts, University of New Brunswick, 1993 Master of Science, University of Maine, Orono, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the Graduate Academic Unit of Geology Supervisor(s): Dr. B.E. Broster, Department of Geology, Chair Dr. D.W. Black, Department of Anthropology Examining Board: Dr. R. Miller, Department of Geology Dr. E.E. Hildebrand, Department of Civil Engineering Dr. P. Arpe, Department of Forestry External Examiner: Dr. T.J. Bell, Department of Geography, Memorial University This dissertation is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK June 2008 © Pamela J. Dickinson, 2008 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-69319-3 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-69319-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT The nature of human interaction with the landscape, both past and future, is an essential question for both geology and archaeology. Landscape elements are controlled in large part by long-term temporal processes and are recorded in the thick sedimentary deposits found within the lower Saint John River valley, New Brunswick. A 67 m continuous core was recovered through drilling at Grand Lake Meadows, located at the junction of Grand Lake and the Saint John River, approximately 55 km south of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Sediment samples were collected from the core to identify stages of development of the marsh land area and surrounding environs since de- glaciation. Analytical tests include particle size analysis and atterberg limit determination, loss-on-ignition, x-ray diffraction, and ion chromatography. Organic samples were also collected for radiocarbon dating, which allowed for the development of chronological control of changes in both the environmental and archaeological record. The Grand Lake Meadows is interpreted as having evolved through four phases of development. Phase one starts with deglaciation and continues to ~11,500 BP. Deglaciation began into a marine environment, which was undergoing desalinization due to pulses of fresh water from melting ice and retreating glaciers. Phase two began -11,500 BP and continued until 8000 BP at which time there was major isostatic readjustment in the region. It was during phase two that the stratified Ancestral Grand Lake was established. Phase three began ~8000 BP and continued until 3000 BP. Phase three represents an increased northern contribution of fresh water and the demise of Ancestral Grand Lake. The lower Saint John River valley consisted of a fluvial dominated fresh water system, which likely initiated the down-cutting of the Reversing n Falls gorge at the coast. During phase four, -3000 BP to present, marine water breached the Reversing Falls allowing saline water to penetrate into the lower Saint John River valley. This breaching at the falls led to the development of the modern river valley and Grand Lake Meadows. This landscape reconstruction, which documented change in the sediment system, landscape morphology, depositional histories and chronology, examines possible linkages between geological events and human activity within the Grand Lake Meadows system. m ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely thankful for the assistance and patience of my supervisors, Dr. Bruce Broster (Department of Geology UNB) and Dr. David Black (Department of Anthropology UNB). I am indebted to both for sharing their interdisciplinary perspective on research and their encouraging words. Many thanks also to Dr. Ron Pickerill (Department of Geology UNB), Dr. Randy Miller (New Brunswick Museum), Dr. Eldo Hildebrand (Department of Civil Engineering UNB), Dr. Paul Arpe (Department of Forestry UNB), and Dr. Trevor Bell (Department of Geography Memorial University of Newfoundland). There are many additional individuals who have in one way or another contributed to the present research. I would like to thank the faculty and staff in the Department of Geology for their assistance and support during the preparation of my dissertation. I would also like to especially thank Dr. Suporn Boonsue, Dr. Tom Al and Dr. Cliff Shaw. I would also like to thank my friends and fellow graduate students for their insights, wide ranging expertise and encouragement. The present dissertation could not have been completed without the financial support provided by the Environmental Trust Fund, New Brunswick Geologic Survey, Grand Lake Meadows Trust Fund, New Brunswick Museum and the Geological Society of America. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents.... v List of Tables vii List of Figures viii List of Plates , xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Objectives and Scope 4 1.2 Site Location 7 1.3 The Modern Environment 9 1.3.1 Overview of Late Quaternary Landform Development 15 1.3.2 Climate of the Lower Saint John River Valley 18 1.4 Bedrock Geology 23 1.5 Glacial History of the Lower Saint John River Valley 24 1.6 Physiography 37 1.6.1 Grand Lake Meadows 38 1.6.2 Major Geomorphological Events 40 1.6.2.1 Formation of a Glacial Lake 41 1.6.2.2 Formation of an Estuary 42 1.7 Previous Core Analysis in the Fredericton Area 43 CHAPTER 2 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LOWER SAINT JOHN RIVER VALLEY. 45 2.1 Culture History , 46 2.1.1 Palaeoindian Period (prior to 9000 BP) 46 2.1.2 Archaic Period (9000 to 2800 BP) 48 2.1.3 Maritime Woodland Period (2800 to 500 BP) 51 2.2 Archaeology of the Grand Lake Meadows 52 2.3 Spoken History of the Lower Saint John River Valley 53 CHAPTER 3 INVESTIGATION METHODS 56 3.1 Drilling and Coring 56 3.2 Laboratory Analysis - Procedures 67 3.2.1 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Radiocarbon Dating 70 3.2.2 Laminae 72 3.2.3 Particle Size Analysis (Hydrometer) 73 3.2.4 Atterberg Limit Determination 74 3.2.5 X-Ray Diffraction Method 75 3.2.6 Ion Chromatography 76 3.2.7 Loss-on-Ignition 77 3.2.8 Natural Moisture Content 79 3.3 Results of Laboratory Analysis 80 3.3.1 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Radiocarbon Dates 80 3.3.2 Laminae 81 v 3.3.3 Particle Size Analysis (Hydrometer) 84 3.3.4 Atterberg Limit Determination 86 3.3.5 X-Ray Diffraction 86 3.3.6 Ion Chromatography 92 3.3.7 Loss-on-Ignition 92 3.3.8 Natural Moisture Content 97 3.4 Interpretation of Laboratory Analysis 97 3.4.1 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Radiocarbon Dates 99 3.4.2 Laminae 101 3.4.3 Particle Size Analysis (Hydrometer) 103 3.4.4 Atterberg Limit Determination 103 3.4.5 X-Ray Diffraction Method 104 3.4.6 Ion Chromatography 107 3.4.7 Loss-on-Ignition 116 3.5 Statistical Analysis... 124 3.5.1 Spearman Rank Correlation 125 3.5.2 Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering 130 3.5.3 Discriminant Analysis 132 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 138 4.1 Facies Model of Deposition 138 4.2 Stratigraphic Units 144 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION 148 5.1 Glacial History 149 5.2 Climate Determined from LOI Analysis 152 5.3 Prehistory and Human Habitation 153 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS 157 6.1 Post Glacial Geological Interpretations of the Grand Lake Meadows Region.. 157 6.2 Implications of the Geological Interpretations for Archaeological Research.... 168 6.3 Sea-level Rise 172 References 175 Appendix I: Grand Lake Meadows (GLM-01) Core Log Appendix II: Particle Size Analysis (Hydrometer Results) Appendix III: Atterberg Limit Results Appendix IV: X-Ray Diffraction Results Appendix V: Loss-on-Ignition Results Appendix VI: Ion Chromatography Results Appendix VII: Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Radiocarbon Dates Curriculum Vitae VI LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Precontact archaeological sites identified within the Grand Lake Meadows 53 3.1 Details of AMS radiocarbon-dated samples from the GLM-01 core 81 3.2 Dissolved solids-salinity relationships 108 3.3 The 11 main salt ions of seawater 108 3.4 Chloride concentration (mg/L) from locations along the lower Saint John River 114 3.5 Samples extracted from the GLM-01 core for coal identification 120 3.6 Correlation between LOI and sand, silt, clay and percent silt plus clay 128 3.7 Correlation between chloride and clay, and chloride and silt 128 3.8 Correlation was noted between bromide and clay, and bromide and silt...
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